Strut or column



March 11 1924.

N. l.. MALMGREN STRUT OR COLUMN Filed Jari. 12.

Patented Mar. lll., i924..

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atraer .new

senor on oot'cnrn.

Application med Januaryiz, 192s. seal no. siaoi.

To all whom t may concem: y

Be it known that I, NELs L. MALMGREN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented an Improved Strut or Column, of which the fol- 'lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to struts or columns.

Struts or columns embodying my invention and improvements are devised primarily for supporting the temporary floor or platform on which a concrete oor is to be laid, but admit ofa wide range of adaptation and use and I do not, therefore, desire` to limit myself to any particular use or application thereof.

The object of the invention is to provide a strut or column consisting, in part, of post members of random lengths, which may readily be adjusted to any desired height or length, thus providing for utilizing pieces of timber which by themselves are too short to be available for the purpose and, also, to avoid the necessity and expense incident to cutting new timbers to the exact lengths required.

Broadly stated, a strut or column embodying my invention and improvements comprises a sleeve member, a post member adapted to telescope within said sleeve member and an adjustable stop on said sleeve member, which forms an abutment for the post member.

Specifically, the sleeve member of my improved strut or column consists of angle bars and bands secured thereto in spaced relation and which rigidly' connect said angle bars, said angle .bars being disposed so as to form an unobstructed opening of desired size and shape in cross-section extending lengthwise through said sleeve member, and adjacent angle bars being spaced apart forming longitudinal openings in the lateral sides of said sleeve member, and the abutment stop for engaging said sleeve and post members with each other, consisting of a plate loosely fitted ,to the opening in said sleeve member formed on which are projections which extend through the openings in the lateral sides of said sleeve member beyond the bands which connect the angle bars forming` parts thereof so as to interlock therewith.

'Ihe invention also comprises the various other features, combinations of features and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed. l

YIn the accompanying drawings in which my .invention is fully illustrated,

Figure l is a sideview of a strut or column embodying my invention and iinprovements, shown as applied in use Vfor supporting the temporary ioor or platform on which a concrete floor is to be laid.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, `sectional elevation thereof taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional plan views on the line 3-3 and ir-4, respectively, of Fig. 2. y 4

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a plate forming an abutmentstopV for operatively connecting the members of the column; and n Figure 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modification. Y

In the accompanying drawings I have, for purposes of clear and definite `illustration, shown a strut or column embodying my invention and improvements Aas applied 1n use for supporting a temporary floor or platform on which a concrete floor is to be laid. t

Referring now to the drawings, A designates a's awhole a strutcr post embodying -my invention, B the sleeve member thereof a's a whole, C thepost section thereof as a whole, and `Dthe temporary floor or platform on which the concrete Hoor, not shown, is to Vbe laid.

In what I now consider to be the preferable embodiment ofmy invention, the sleeve member B consists. of four angle bars 1 4rigidly connected together by Vmeans of bands 2' secured in spaced relation to the exteriorl surfaces thereof, the relation being such that theinner surfaces of said angle bars will define a substantially square or rectangularV opening extending lengthwise through said sleeve member. In practice, thebands 2 will be secured to the vangle bars 1 at relatively short distancesapart, a desirable interval for vusual purposes being about six inches to one foot. The distance will, however, vary with the size of the strut or column. Also, for reasons presently apparent, the extreme bands 2 are secured to the angle bars 1 at an appreciable distance from the ends of said angle bars, usually from six inches to one foot.

While I consider the use of continuous bands 2 for connectingrthe angle bars 1 to be preferable, I do not desire to limit myself thereto, as other forms of connecting means could readily be substituted for said bands by mechanics skilled in the art without the exercise of invention. For example, separate straps might be substituted for the continuous bands 2.

The post member C preferably consists of a timber of substantially the same shape in cross section as the opening through the sleeve member B and which is of such size that it will telescope into the sleeve member B, being loosely fitted thereto.

As shown, the angle bars 1 are secured together in spaced relation to eachother so that openings 3 will be formed in the lateral sides of the sleeve member, the end sections of said openings beyond the extreme connecting bands 2 defining slots 4 adapted to receive the joists 5 which form the temporary supports for the floor joists 6 of the temporary floor D.

In use, the sleeve member B and post member C of my improved strut or column are adapted to be secured together to form a strut or column of desired length, by means of plates 7 which conform substantially to the shape in cross-section of the opening through the sleeve members B and are loosely fitted thereto and formed on which are lugs or projections 8 which extend through the openings 3 in the lateral sides of said sleeve section outwardly beyond the portions of the bands 2 which extend across said openings, so as to interlock therewith.

To render the plates 7 interchangeable so that they may be engaged with different bands 2, saidplates are so proportioned that they may be inserted into the opening in the sleeve section B through the lateral openings 8 in said sleeve member between adjacent connecting bands 2, thus rendering said abutment plates interchangeable and permitting the post member C to enter the sleeve member B a greater or less distance depending upon the length of the post member C and the designed over-all length of the column A.

The particular advantage of this feature 'of my improved strut or column is that the post member C may be made of timbers of random length, thus providing for the use of pieces of timber which might otherwise be of little or no value, instead of making said struts or columns of new timbers cut l to proper length.

of considerable area for. the joists 5, instead of resting'said joists directly upon the relatively narrow edges of thev bands 2, the plates 7 for supporting said joists5 resting upon the top sides of the extreme upper -proper` level, the lower ends of the post members C preferably rest upon wedges 9 Y which in turn rest upon a suitablesupport or foundation indicated at 10.

' 'When the over-all length of the strut or column, as assembled for use, is either longer or shorter than can be taken up by the wedges 9, to adjust the tops of the joists 5 to the desired level, my invention contemplates either cutting a short piece oif from the ends of the post members C, when too long, or inserting a piece of proper length at the upper end of said Vpost member, if too short. In the drawings, in which the post member C is assumed to be too short, said post member is shown as lengthened by 'a block 11 inserted between the upper end of said post member and the stop plate 7. Y

Instead of supporting the joists 5, or other load, directly upon the upper end 0f the sleeve member B, my invention contemplates equally making the strut or column A of two separate post members C connected by a sleeve member B.

This modification is shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, in which C1, C2 indicate the post members, B1 the sleeve member which connects said post members, and 71 a stop plate against which the upper end of the lower post member C1 abuts,and the lower end of the upper post member C2 rests, said sleeve member maintaining said post members in alignment and the stop plate 71 securing said sleeve member in position relatively to the connected ends of said post members.

I claim- 1. A strut or column comprising a Sleeve member consisting of flanged longitudinal members, transverse members which rigidly connect said longitudinal members together in spaced relation forming openings in the sides of said sleeve member across which said transverse members extend, a post member adapted to telescope within saidsleeve member, and a stop plate adapted to be inserted into said sleeve member with parts thereof projecting through longitudinal Y openings in the sides of said sleeve member so as to interchangeably interlock with transverse members of said-sleeve, substantially as described.

2. A strut or column as specified in claim 1, in which the'abutment plates areremovable and replaceable through the openings adapted to receive members of a. temporary structure supported by said strut or column, 10 substantially as described.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I affix my signature this 8th day of January, A. D. 1922.

NELS L. MALMGREN. 

